Guide to Spring Classics Road Bike Racing

Paris-Roubaix

6 / 11

Nickname: Queen of the Classics, Hell of the North, Le Pascale

How to Say It: "pairee roo-bay"

The Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix is the race many of us think about when we hear the word pavé ("pah-vay")—and with good reason. Home to over 25 sections of some of the world’s most legendary cobblestones (this year’s edition will feature 31), the Hell of the North is more than a race—it’s a life-changing experience. For the riders, Paris-Roubaix is something more daunting, painful, and unrelenting than anything they’ve experienced on a bike. In fact, the most basic requirement of any future Roubaix champion is simply that he enjoy competing in it.

Organized as a gimmick in 1896, the race actually started in Paris until being moved to a town called Compiegne in 1968. It begins rather quietly with over 100 kilometers of smooth roads before hitting the first section of pavé. (Each of the race’s cobbled secteurs is counted down from highest to lowest and rated on a scale of one to five according to difficulty.) For those lucky enough to survive, the race finishes in the legendary Roubaix Velodrome, with one and a half laps around the concrete track often proving to be the decisive factor in determining the day’s outcome.

Belgium’s Roger de Vlaeminck has the most titles with four, but his compatriot and current professional Tom Boonen already has three and is hungry for the record. American George Hincapie is perhaps Roubaix’s most tragic hero of the past 15 years, coming close on several occasions but never quite having the luck necessary to emerge victorious. He’ll return this year hoping that fate is on his side, but at 37 years old, time is running out for the popular American.